Where Clinton and Trump stand on foreign policy issues

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton clashed on their approach to the civil war in Syria during the second presidential debate.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton clashed on their approach to the...

Buried in a presidential debate marked largely by insults and threats, the two candidates were asked a question about Syria that provided insight into how their worldviews and foreign policy priorities differ.

Democrat Hillary Clinton focused on how the U.S. should use its power to help — create a no-fly zone and try to check Russian influence in Syria through negotiation. Republican Donald Trump was concerned about knocking out the only thing he felt directly affected American interests: the Islamic State. “We have to worry about ISIS before we can get too much more involved,” he said.

The answers — Clinton talked about working with allies on the ground and a humanitarian intervention, while Trump had a single target — show the two candidates have different approaches to America’s responsibility as a superpower and its relationships with other countries.

“Clinton is someone who believes in an active and engaged role abroad,” said Elizabeth Saunders, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a professor of international affairs at George Washington University. “She believes that it’s good for us — for our national security and economic prosperity — for us to have a really engaged presence internationally that includes alliances and occasional military interventions.”

Trump, on the other hand, believes that international alliances have not served the United States well and thinks “that we spend too much money on many of these things” and would be less engaged globally, she said.

Here’s a breakdown of where the candidates stand on major foreign policy issues:

Syria

An estimated 400,000 people have been killed in the five-year civil war. In recent weeks, the besieged city of Aleppo has suffered significant civilian casualties as Russia and Syrian leader Bashar Assad pound areas controlled by antigovernment forces. In recent years, the Islamic State has risen to prominence in Syria, unleashing deadly attacks there.

Clinton: She has described ways to become more involved in Syria. They include targeting Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, increasing air strikes against the terrorist organization in both Iraq and Syria, and providing more support for groups that fight it. At Sunday’s debate, Clinton reiterated her call for a no-fly zone in northern Syria — a split from the Obama administration. She said Syria showed “the ambitions and the aggressiveness” of Russia and that she would curb that influence.

Trump: He has focused primarily on attacking the Islamic State when discussing Syria. But the GOP nominee has said he would not reveal his plan to defeat the Islamic State, saying only that he knew more than “the generals” did about it. In March, Trump mentioned sending thousands of troops into Syria and Iraq to defeat the Islamic State, but he later said he would send in “very few troops.” At Sunday’s debate, he praised the potential benefits of working with Russia against the Islamic State. Trump said that while he was not a fan of Assad, the Syrian dictator was killing the Islamic State, along with Russia and Iran. He added that the U.S. had to “worry about ISIS” before risking further involvement in Syria.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed more than 60 years ago to deter the influence of the Soviet Union. A main principle is that an attack on one country is considered to be an attack on all the countries.

Trump: Overall, he has been skeptical of the alliance and its necessity. He has called for the United States to rethink its relationship with NATO, specifically criticizing the amount of money America contributes — more than any other country. Trump said that he would have to think about whether to defend the small Baltic members from a Russian attack.

“Have they fulfilled their obligations to us? If they fulfill their obligations to us, the answer is yes,” he said. However, Trump seemingly changed his position on the issue at the first presidential debate, saying he was “all for NATO.”

Clinton: She has been overwhelmingly supportive of NATO. In a speech at Stanford University this year, Clinton said America’s global alliances give it a strategic advantage over China and Russia. She pointed to NATO as one of the best investments the country had ever made, as NATO allies had stood with America after 9/11 and were alongside the United States in Afghanistan and the Balkans.

Russia

The rocky relationship between the United States and Russia has become an issue because of the the GOP candidate’s seeming sympathies for Vladimir Putin. The recent diplomatic conflicts between the Obama administration and Russia — namely the breakdown in a Syria cease-fire plan — along with Russia’s apparent involvement with the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails have increased that spotlight.

Clinton: She has kept a tough line on Russia. While the former secretary of state led the Obama administration’s “reset” of U.S.-Russia relations, which included a nuclear arms treaty between the two countries, she is said to have been skeptical of Putin and Russia. She reportedly wrote memos to President Obama advocating a tougher approach to Russia toward the end of her time in the administration. Clinton’s running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has also said economic sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea need to continue.

Trump: He has said he wished the relationship between the two countries was stronger. He has said he would have a “very, very good relationship” with Russia, while repeatedly praising Putin’s leadership qualities. He has said that he would look into lifting sanctions against Russia and even consider acknowledging Crimea as part of Russia.

Iran

The U.S. and five other foreign powers have reached a landmark deal with Iran over its nuclear program. The deal led to the lifting of sanctions in exchange for international oversight and restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program.

Clinton: She supports the deal. The Democratic candidate has repeatedly talked about her efforts to increase international sanctions against Iran to force it to negotiate. Clinton says she supports standing by the deal and would reinstate sanctions if Iran were to break the agreement.

Trump: He has been critical of the deal. Trump initially said that ripping up the deal would be difficult but that he would “police that contract so tough they don’t have a chance,” before saying later that he would renegotiate. He has called it the worst deal ever made by a country.

North Korea

In recent months, the country led by Kim Jong Un conducted its fifth underground nuclear test, which was met with quick condemnation by the U.N. Security Council, and tested a long-range rocket engine.

Trump: He appears to have focused primarily on getting China to fix the problem. China should “solve that problem for us” and should “go into North Korea,” he said. In the past, he stated that the United States might be “better off” if Japan and South Korea had nuclear weapons to protect themselves from North Korea. Trump has repeatedly said those two countries needed to pay more for U.S. defense support.

Clinton: She has mentioned a renewed focus on North Korea. She has called for continued sanctions against North Korea but has said there was more the United States could do, including rethinking the current strategy and getting China to realize it was not “just a U.S. issue.” She has said that the United States would continue to honor mutual defense treaties in Japan and South Korea. “It is essential that America’s word be good,” she said in the first presidential debate.